Cold
by Spice of Life
Summary: …'Okay, maybe not suddenly.' Freddy grinned inwardly again; he had realized sometime last year that he had the hots for Zack. Who didn't though, seriously? That kid was a sex-bomb waiting to go off... Slash. MM. Yeah. PROBABLY NEVER BEING UPDATED.
1. Neglected

Well, it's official. I am obsessed with School of Rock. I watched the commentary for the first time yesterday…it was hilarious! Joey and Kevin were so funny, lol. Last night I had this really stupid dream about how the cast of School of Rock were my friends and stuff, and after awhile I remembered they were famous and asked for their autograph…yeah, like that would ever happen, Hehe. –I WISH—

Anywaaaaay…:sneeze:

Yeah, this is slash. Male/Male and such, if you didn't know. Light slash, because I am a wimp. Perhaps one day I will get into the good stuff. ONE DAY!...anyway, this is my first real slash. So….sorry if it sucks. Honestly, I am. :) And it deals with child abuse, which is also a first for me. So, this fic is a first in a bunch of ways. Not my first fic though, lol, for I believe I have over 20 or so…

Since song fics aren't allowed (which is totally GAY, might I add) I'll just use my own song. HA, take that! I own the song; therefore I have permission to use it! And if you don't believe me, here. I will show you asking myself.

Me: Can I use this song I just wrote in my fan fic?

Me: Sure you can!

Me: Thank you:sneeze:

Happy? Good.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own School of Rock. Dude, if I owned it…seriously. Think about it. I'd be pushing its PG-13 rating to the limit. It would be sooo corrupted, mwahahaha! But sadly, I do not own it. I am reduced to watching it for countless hours on my portable DVD player. Yep. Sad, isn't it. I do, however, own the sneezes coming out of my nose. I wish I didn't. Because they are driving me insane. And they are loud. And they will not stop. Damn allergies…

And once again…because I know incredibly dense and stupid people do in fact exist…

**I OWN THIS SONG**. I own it. I OWN IT. The song used in this fic…is owned by me. I wrote it. I own it.

Any more questions?

Gooood. Now read and review like the wind, my pets! GO:sneeze:

…

Thunder. God, he hated thunder. Lightening he didn't mind, it looked nice—like bringing a beam of hope through an otherwise stormy future. But thunder? All it did was shake the already unstable foundation he found himself on. It made loud rumbling noises like his stomach did constantly. And most of all?

It usually meant rain. Rain, as in the wet drops currently soaking him to the bone and falling all over road to make deep puddles. He shivered harshly and wrapped his arms around his thin body in an attempt to reserve body heat. It was probably about 20 or 30 degrees outside, and he was walking down the road in his boxer shorts and a thin white shirt. He hadn't had any time to grab clothes. His bare feet plodded along the sidewalk, and he had no idea where they were taking him—not that he could feel them anyway.

Another shiver, and he considered lying down on the cold and damp sidewalk and never getting up. His feet carried on, however, obviously having a destination in mind. Or maybe they, like his entire life, were just wondering along—never to find where they were meant to go.

He could barely see anything—not only had the rain clouded his vision, but the intense cold was chilling every part of him. His left eye was black and blue, almost swollen shut as it was. His mind was frozen, and he was relatively glad of this fact. If his mind wasn't working, that meant he wasn't thinking. And thinking was _never_ good.

He figured he had stepped in a pretty good sized puddle or had tripped over something, because all of a sudden his face was smashed into the damp asphalt. He forced his mind to think, for once. _'Get up!'_ it told him, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to listen or not. He was numb all over…

And suddenly, he was being lifted up. _'I'm dying…' _He allowed himself to think, _'I'm really dying…'_ he smiled as much as his frozen face would let him, and suddenly…it all went black.

…

Ooookay, well…this went way out of proportion from what I had expected to write, lol. It was supposed to be a one-shot…probably about 1, 000 words long. NOT what I turned out with, lol. I haven't even used the song yet! But it'll be in there somewhere, lol...anyway...I decided to split it into chapters…so far I have 4 written, and am in the middle of writing the 5th one…so, I guess I'll post them now. Please review, they totally make my day!


	2. Foggy

Okay, aaaand here we go again! (Just because I don't feel like waiting to post this…)

…

"_Zack…Zack…"_

A whisper drifted through the foggy darkness like a sweet song…it came from a far away edge of his mind…and then on the other side, much closer, a bright light shone through like a heavenly burst through a shadowy tunnel…

He remembered something, from a long time ago…maybe it was from a book or an old nursery rhyme or something…all he could recall was something about a light at the end of a tunnel…

He reached out his hand to it, discovering there was nothing to feel with at all…but the light…it gave him so much warmth and happiness…he reached for it again, but it would not come. It seemed farther away, somehow…

"_Zack! Zack!"_ The voice was coming closer now, a harsh sharp sound instead of the beautiful music that it had been before…but it was closer, and he reached out for it…

"_Zack! Wake up, please_!"

The blackness suddenly swirled into bright whiteness that seared through him like hot knives. "_Zack, please_…"

And then the white turned into a mass of blurry colors, like a watercolor painting that had been left in the rain. Sort of like himself, he thought ironically—something that had been created and left to be ruined.

And then he realized that his eyes were open, and he was staring into the bleary eyed face of his best friend, Freddy Jones. He wasn't dead—far from it.

"_Zack_!" Freddy yelled, "Zack, you're awake!" He hugged the frozen boy tightly, not caring that his own dry clothes were being soaked in the process. He pulled his coat that he had placed over Zack's shoulders tighter.

His vision becoming clearer, Zack noticed they were in Freddy's garage. He was lying on a soft blue blanket. Very not dead. The heater was sitting beside him, the warmth penetrating his body. "_F-Freddy_?" He asked finally, his voice wavering and alien.

"Yeah, yeah." Freddy answered quickly, moving the heater closer, "Are you okay? Are you feeling warmer? I can get some blankets if you want."

"B-blankets…" Zack whispered hoarsely, his mind still unable to process what was going on—other then the fact that he still could not feel any of his body parts. Freddy nodded, running out the door. Zack stared at one of his hands that was shaking so hard he was surprised it was still attached to his arm. He tried to make his fingers uncurl from the fist it was making, but the fingers would not listen.

The spiky-haired teen came back into the room, his arms full of blankets, a shirt, and a clean pair of boxers. "Can you move?" He asked Zack, who shook his head very slowly in response. He began to close his eyes, the prospect of the dark suddenly very appealing. "_Zack_! No, stay awake!" Freddy's screams woke him up once again, the panic in his eyes overwhelming him.

"I c-can't…" Zack mumbled, using every ounce of strength left in him to keep them open, "leave me alone…"

"Zack! Wake up, damnit! You _can't_ die!" Freddy yelled, slapping Zack in the face desperately, "_Damnit_!"

Zack struggled to open his eyes again, suddenly not wanting to sleep so much. Freddy was crying—actually crying. "I'll s-stay a-awake." He promised, watching silently as Freddy quickly wiped away his tears.

"Okay, well…" Freddy started, regaining his composure, "You need to get your wet clothes off." He started to reach for Zack's wet shirt, but the dark haired boy squirmed. "I need to get it off, Zack. It's just making you colder." When again the smaller boy protested, Freddy reached over and pulled it off forcefully.

And then it seemed like everything froze while he stared at what he had uncovered.

…

(Next Time)

"Don't look!" Zack yelled in a weak voice, feebly attempting to roll to his side. "Just don't…it's nothing…"

"Zack…" Freddy was at loss for words, "What the _hell_ is that?"

…

Enjoy, darling reviewers! (Code for REVIEW PLEASE!)


	3. Bruised

Aaaand, the next installment…oh, and NO FLAMES! I forgot that before…

…

"Don't look!" Zack yelled in a weak voice, feebly attempting to roll to his side. "Just don't…it's nothing…"

"Zack…" Freddy was at loss for words, "What the _hell_ is that?" He had meant to sound comforting, but the words fell out in a harsh voice, making even himself cringe. "I mean…" He tried again; making sure his voice was softer, "What…what happened?"

Brown eyes traveled down his exposed chest and stomach, yellowing bruises fading, and purple-ish brown wounds stood out against pale white skin. "It's n-nothing." Zack answered, his eyes refusing to look at it again.

Freddy just nodded his head _'Like hell it's nothing…'_, and stared at the bruises for a few more moments before grabbing the new shirt, and carefully lifting up Zack's arms to put it over his head. "Can you feel your arms yet?"

Zack carefully unfurled his fingers, "G-give me your h-hand," He commanded, and wrapped his slim freezing fingers around Freddy's warm hand. His long digits had started to have some feeling back in them, and were tingling and feeling a sense of numbness. But Freddy's hands were so warm…

Freddy shivered against the coldness of his friend's fingers, but grasped them tighter. Who knew how long Zack had been out there wondering in the rain, let alone passed out on the sidewalk. He might be dangerously sick! Hell, he had already almost died! He was about to break the silence between them by asking Zack the biggest question on his mind—but Zack was apparently thinking the same thing, and proposed his own question.

"How did I get here?"

A cross frown appeared along Freddy's lips, "That's what I wanted to know."

Zack frowned as well, but it didn't stick for he was soon shivering and chattering his teeth again. "No, I mean…I remember…the sidewalk…I fell…and then, well, I was here…"

Freddy sighed. "I saw you out my window. You were a few houses away from mine. I couldn't get to sleep, so I was sitting in my room watching the lightening. And then I saw you—passed out on the sidewalk. So I went down there and carried you in here."

"Oh." Zack paused, "Thanks."

"That's all you're going to say?" Freddy asked.

Zack looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"I'd like to know why you were walking around in your boxers during a rainstorm, dude!" Freddy yelled impatiently, throwing down Zack's hands in the process. A guilty look crossed over his features a few moments, after, but he refused to apologize until he had gotten the information he wanted.

"I…I-I…" Zack looked down to his hands, which were rubbing each other furiously in a feeble attempt to gain some body heat. Freddy, deciding to make an apologetic gesture—for once, grabbed his hands again. "Well…"

"Yeah?"

Zack sighed. "You have to promise you won't tell anyone."

'_This must be something big…'_ Freddy realized, but gave Zack a reassuring smile. "I promise, dude. Secret's safe with me."

…

(Next Time—God, I feel like an announcer….anyway…)

"Zack," Freddy paused, but not being one to be shy, continued, "Is that where you got the bruises?"

"From where?"

"Your dad."

…


	4. Flames

Okay, last chapter of the night! Please review! Next chapter should be up…Sunday night, maybe. Ja.

…

His dark haired friend gave a half-hearted smile, "Okay, well…dad kicked me out. Again, really. But last time it was warm and dry outside. But really, it was my fault, because I—"

"Zack," Freddy paused, but not being one to be shy, continued, "Is that where you got the bruises?"

"From where?"

"Your dad." The spiky haired teen said, squeezing Zack's hands even tighter, as a way of reassurance.

A sigh escaped the smaller boy's pale lips, "Y-yeah…but, it was…it was my fault…I was…I deserved it."

'_Yeah, like Mr. Perfect Zack would ever do anything wrong.'_ Freddy thought, and would have laughed if it had not been a serious situation. "What did you do?"

"Y-you know…" Zack replied, "Just…like, coming home from band practice late…um, having to miss school because I'm s-sick…getting a B on s-something…" He let his arms go limp, and his hand's slid out of Freddy's, "And 'c-cuz I'm a stupid, screw-up—"

"Zack, " Freddy sat back, shaking his head in disbelief and sighing, "That's called _child abuse_, man! He should go to jail for that!"

Zack's eyes widened, "No! No, b-because it's not his fault." He saw Freddy shake his head again, and responded in a shaky voice, "Really, it's…it's okay."

"Whatever, man." Freddy sighed again, and vowed to do something about it…_'but later…'_ he thought, "Dude, you need to take your boxers off too, they're soaked. I brought you another pair." He grabbed the boxers he had brought down—a black pair with silver and orange flames. _'My favorite pair,'_ He grinned inwardly, _'and they'll look fricking' hot on Zack._' And with that rather audacious thought, Freddy paused, '_Wait…okay, so the wrong time to suddenly get the hots for Zack.' _

…'_Okay, maybe not suddenly.'_ Freddy grinned inwardly again; he had realized sometime last year that he had the hots for Zack. Who didn't though, seriously? That kid was a sex-bomb waiting to go off…and Freddy would have laughed at that thought as well, but he was interrupted by his mind begging him to _SHUTUP_.

Zack had changed under one of the blankets while Freddy had been thinking. He smiled lightly; a content noise sounded from his lips as he curled himself tighter under the blanket and closed his eyes. He felt Freddy's stare on him, and opened one eye.

"Zack?"

"It's okay, Fred…just gonna' go to sleep." Zack answered, and closed his eyes again. Soon enough, the soft sound of his snoring echoed lightly through the garage. Freddy shrugged his shoulders, grabbing another blanket and laying down beside Zack.

But his eyes never closed that night.

…


End file.
